One of Us
by Ceu Praca
Summary: After all is said and done in Ocarina of Time, there is a boy, both young and ancient, who wishes to speak with the Hero of Time. Mido and Link never got along when Link was a kid, but now that the hero is all grown up, Mido's opinions of him seem to have changed. Written because Mido is hated way too much by people, and I like to write about the random side characters.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mido, Link, or anything else in the Zelda Universe. :P I'm sure you already knew that.

**A/N1:** This is a oneshot that occurs shortly after the events of_ Ocarina of Time_, and takes place within my AU Dragon Series. If you haven't read _Dragon Sword_ yet, then I'll explain: in this AU, then Link gets beat up but the King Dodongo when he's a child, and, coincidentally, his Kokiri Tunic is destroyed. Obviously, after seven years of growing, his old clothes wouldn't have fit him anymore, anyway. So where did he get a new green tunic? During the events of _Dragon Sword_, then Link goes through his whole adventure without the tunic, and is just wearing normal civilian clothes. This takes place a little while after Ganondorf's demise.

**A/N2:** One other thing: Mido gets way too much hate and negative attention from people; c'mon, guys, he's a little kid! _And_ he apologized to Link for all the mean things he did to him when the hero was a child! So be nice and give Mido a little more love; Farore knows that he needs it!

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Link woke up abruptly, not sure why he was suddenly on edge until he realized that someone was in the meadow with him; he turned slowly, one hand held ready in case he needed to draw his sword, and saw a pair of bright blue, human eyes blinking at him in the darkness, glowing slightly.

The young hero sighed, shaking his head at the realization that the nighttime intruder was a Kokiri. He'd fallen asleep at the entrance to the Forest Temple because he'd wanted to be alone for a while, but solitude seemed difficult to find these days.

"What do you want?" he asked, keeping his voice low; no need to wake the entire forest.

"I…I want to talk to you…" a voice said, sounding slightly nervous.

Link frowned, confused. "Mido?"

The Kokiri boss crept forward until he was close enough that he was visible, though still hard to make out; the children of the woods were naturally built for concealment. "You…you're Link, aren't you?" the small boy stated; although he phrased it as a question, the glint in his eyes told the hero that he knew that answer already.

The man nodded slowly. "I wondered whether anyone would figure it out or not."

"Why didn't you just tell us when you first met us?" Mido inquired, creeping forward a bit more, though staying well out of reach. "Why pretend that you're someone else?"

"I was afraid," Link admitted. "I didn't know how anyone would react. You know, Mido, you always said that I didn't belong, that I wasn't a Kokiri, and it turns out that you were right. I'm not. I'm a 'Big Person.'"

Mido finally came all the way up to Link and stared straight in his eyes with a hint of that old belligerence. "I knew you were really a Big Person the whole time; I was there when you first came to the forest."

Link stared at him in surprise. "Really? How come you never told me?"

The boy grunted, averting his gaze. "The Great Deku Tree told us to raise you as a Kokiri. He didn't want you to know, so we obeyed."

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence, then Mido pulled a large bundle of something from his enchanted belt pouch and thrust it at the hero. "Take this. We all made it together."

"'We?'" Link echoed, puzzled, but he took it carefully, inspecting the leaf-wrapped package inquisitively.

"The whole tribe, Wolfos Breath," Mido snapped. "Just open it!"

Link grinned in spite of himself; he never thought the day would come where he'd be _happy_ to hear the boy's childish insults. He shook his head in amusement and unwrapped the parcel slowly, revealing a folded square of green cloth. Link touched the soft fabric, bewildered. He knew this material; he wore a tunic made from it when he was a child, though that was long ago ripped to shreds after a fight with the King Dodongo.

Mido smacked his arm, grimacing. "Just unfold it, Scrub Brain!"

Link chuckled and pulled the fabric up; it fell open to reveal that it _was_ a tunic, finely crafted from the same skulltula-silk weave that all the Kokiri wore. Only this one was…different. It was adult sized, with a strange combination of the Kokiri and Hylian symbols woven into the left sleeve. He raised an eyebrow, staring at the boy. "What's this for?"

Mido suddenly looked…hesitant. "We, uh…well, even though you're not a Kokiri, you're still one of us. And as long as you still have a house in the village, you need to wear our colors. Your old tunic, wherever it is, obviously won't fit you anymore."

Link smiled; he really appreciated what Mido was saying. Upon returning his gaze to the opened package, he found new boots and a belt, both made from a very flexible, strong form of tree bark, and a long, pointed hat made from the same silk as the tunic. _Yeah, I really missed having people make fun of my hat,_ he thought with a laugh. "This is perfect, Mido. Thank you."

The kid shrugged awkwardly. "I, uh…I'm also sorry for being mean to you all those years. Can we be friends now?"

Link nodded, acknowledging the apology. "Yes, of course."

The boy appeared relieved. "Good."

The hero pulled something out of his belt and held it out to the boy; it was the Kokiri Sword, an item that the hero had taken from the forest seven years ago. "I want you to have this, Mido. It never should have left the forest in the first place, and you're the only one I'd trust to use it."

The Kokiri boss took the blade carefully, his eyes lit up with wonder. "You…you really mean it?"

The man grinned. "I may be the one who saved the forest, but _you're_ the one that the Great Deku Tree told to protect the Kokiri. Those kids are your responsibility. You're the boss for a reason, and you should probably have a weapon, just in case the forest is ever attacked again and I'm not here."

Mido suddenly looked scared. "I don't know how to fight, though. If the forest _is_ attacked, I won't be able to do anything besides bring the others to shelter."

"And that's precisely what you should do if such a thing ever happens," Link replied. "But, if you ever need my help, then just use your ocarina and play Saria's Song. I'll hear it and come."

The boy seemed thoughtful, then he nodded, and, for the first time in seven years, Mido smiled. "I'm glad you're my friend now, Link."

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**A/N:** Skulltula silk...why skulltula silk? For one, it's a material that would be readily available in a forest, and two...spider silk is _extremely_ durable and resistant to attack; in fact, it's stronger than steel! As witnessed in Skyward Sword, a skulltula's silk is strong enough to tie up a human with ease. And not all spider silk is sticky, either; spiders can produce seven different kinds of silky, including a kind of dry, soft silk that doesn't stick to you while remaining incredibly tough. That dry silk is what the tunic is made from. I leave it up to your imaginations to figure out how the heck the Kokiri managed to harvest silk from a skulltula. XD


End file.
